Diminutive
by WynterSky
Summary: An unusual side effect of the meeting of Tessaiga's and Tenseiga's power results in Rin discovering a daiyoukai child, rather than an adult.
1. Prologue

[A/N: First venture into the Inuyasha fandom! Yay! Eventually I want to write a crossover with Naruto (my focus fandom) since there are far too few good specimens of those. For now, I hope you enjoy!]

Prologue:

Sesshoumaru could have laughed as he saw Inuyasha pick himself up and raise Tessaiga again. The hanyou couldn't even see, and he still wanted to fight? Still, it would remove any chance of his victory being mocked; no one could claim that Inuyasha hadn't fought back.

Power surged as Sesshoumaru prepared to shift into his true form, to rend the pathetic brat to bits until every resemblance between them was gone. As he sprang, there was a sudden shift in the tenor of Inuyasha's youki—it seemed he had figured something out, but no matter. It was too late for his half-brother to regain control of the fight.

Or so he thought, before Tessaiga slashed across at what Sesshoumaru knew was the exact point necessary to utilize the Wind Scar at its maximum power. There was no time to dodge, not that Sesshoumaru would have threatened his dignity by doing so, so there was nothing for it but to bear the blow.

Sesshoumaru had never expected such power to come from his untrained half-brother, but as the energy hit him he realized with some surprise that it had the potential to be lethal. Tenseiga began to glow, but it did nothing to block the pain as Sesshoumaru felt himself being swept away.

His body almost felt as if it was dissolving…

…

[A/N: Oo, cliffie! Speaking of crossovers, there's a poll up on my profile page. Please vote! It'll be important when I get around to writing one.]


	2. Chapter 1

[A/N: Again, the poll, please take a look…]

Chapter 1:

Sesshoumaru blinked fuzzily as his vision cleared, and found himself staring at a bush. His aching head was too put-upon at the moment to give him much more information than that it was a bush, so he closed his eyes for a little while and tried to think of how he could have gotten there.

The last thing he remembered was going flying with Father and some of the other members of the court. Had he fallen? His cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the thought of tumbling from the sky in front of all the nobles. Father wouldn't take him flying again for months after this.

Sesshoumaru tried to sit up, but his head promptly began to whirl dizzily and he lay back down again, trying to shift his position a little so that he was looking at something more interesting than a bush. The fallen log on the other side had slightly better aesthetics, but not by much. Tucking his mokomoko behind his aching head, he waited for Father to come and find him.

After what Sesshoumaru deemed to be several hours (he had drifted off to sleep a few times and therefore wasn't sure) the sun began to set, still with no sign of Father. Sesshoumaru really began to worry now. How badly must he have disgraced himself, that Father would not yet return for him? He had only recently begun to participate fully in the events at the court of the Western Lands, and still knew little enough that it was far too easy to make a fool of himself. Falling out of the sky on a mere touring flight certainly would have accomplished that very thoroughly.

Still, if he had fallen, why didn't he hurt more? Aside from the headache and the dizzy feeling, he didn't seem to be at all injured. Daiyoukai were very resilient and healed remarkably fast, but broken bones from such a high fall couldn't possibly have healed yet. But if he hadn't fallen, Sesshoumaru had no idea how he could have gotten there.

There was a sudden rustling from the bush he had turned away from, and Sesshoumaru snapped his head around to look that way, ignoring the stabbing pain through his dizzy head at the movement. The rustling stopped, and Sesshoumaru thought he heard retreating footsteps. Perhaps he was near a human settlement, for he had sensed no youki from the intruder.

Too tired to care about what new trouble that might cause, Sesshoumaru lay his head back on the mokomoko and allowed his eyes to drift shut.

…

Sesshoumaru roused slowly to the uncomfortable sensation that he was being stared at. Then something poked his face, and his eyes snapped open as he grabbed for whatever it was. He found himself holding a small tanned wrist in his own pale hand, and looking into a pair of wide brown eyes. The sun was streaking through the trees—it was morning already, and still Father hadn't come. Maybe he wasn't going to come. Sesshoumaru must have failed him somehow, after all.

The owner of the eyes was a tiny little girl; well, not exactly tiny, she was actually about the same size as Sesshoumaru himself, or maybe even bigger (but only by a _very_ little bit). She just seemed small and delicate. Her hair was shaggy and uncontrolled except for a small lock tied with a simple beaded ornament, and her clothes were worn and dirty.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Sesshoumaru released the girl's hand, pulling himself into a sitting position so that he would not appear vulnerable. The girl promptly reached out again and started patting his hair, making soft little sighing sounds as she stroked the soft silver locks.

"Stop that," Sesshoumaru said firmly. He was the Prince of the Western Lands and he would not be petted like a dog. Even if it did feel rather nice and help his headache.

The girl pulled her hand away, her mouth making a sad little 'O' shape as she whimpered unhappily. She sounded more like an orphaned inuyoukai than anything else, and Sesshoumaru found himself feeling a little guilty, even though she was just a human.

Turning away, he ignored her, hoping she would get distracted and go away so he wouldn't have to deal with the whole business. After a few moments, her footstep pattered away and he sighed with relief as he staggered to his feet long enough to make it to a nearby tree and curl up at its base. Why wouldn't his body respond properly? His balance was all off, and his vision whirled as he almost collapsed by the tree.

If his father would not return for him, Sesshoumaru must fend for himself, but in his current state he would be lucky to make it to the trail in the forest. This was not a good situation to be in; even if Father was angry with him, he would still make a good bargaining chip for anyone who wanted to kidnap him. Sesshoumaru was still far too young to fight off any powerful youkai, and his father's enemies were very powerful.

He was distracted from his reverie as footsteps again approached him, and he quickly recognized the scent as that of the bothersome girl. Preparing to snarl at her and scare her off, he whirled around, only to get a bucket of water splashed into his face.

Yipping in undignified surprise, Sesshoumaru coughed and spluttered, trying to get the water out of his eyes so he could see again. The girl was staring at him with what he now recognized as concern, the kind of expression his mother would use when he messed up in a spar and got cut or bruised. Sesshoumaru didn't like that look, it meant people thought he was weak. He wasn't weak, he wasn't! He was just still training; he would get better.

As Sesshoumaru finally got enough water out of his ears to be able to hear properly again—it had been quite disconcerting without one of his most important senses—the girl crouched down and started patting his hair again. Sesshoumaru glared at her but before he could say anything she grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. The young inuyoukai staggered and, to his horror, had to lean on the girl's shoulder to remain upright.

The girl patted his hand gently, making a few soft cooing sounds that were oddly comforting, and led him through the brush to a dirt trail. Sesshoumaru struggled a bit getting through the bushes; he had been going flying, so his heavy court clothes were little good for walking through a forest. The heavy brocade and miniature armor were all right for weightless flying, but not so good on the ground, and the mokomoko kept getting caught in things. To Sesshoumaru's embarrassment, the girl always paused and painstakingly worked it loose before helping him further down the trail. Once or twice she paused to brush dirt off his fine clothing, as well. Sesshoumaru, of course, did not object to the servile acts, as they were only what he could expect for his rank. It was the fact that he had to rely on the girl for help that bothered him.

After a few minutes of walking down the path, the forest opened into a wide clearing. Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose a little at the smell of so many humans and their animals as he looked at the village nestled into the clearing. It looked rustic and dirty, and very unprepossessing compared to the rich palace Sesshoumaru was used to.

He glanced over at the girl, who turned to him and silently put one finger to her lips before carefully leading him around the edge of the village. It didn't seem that any of the villagers had noticed them yet, being too busy with laundry or feeding chickens or whatever peasant chores they were doing. They would take notice if it was Father.

By the time they reached their destination, Sesshoumaru was beginning to feel dizzy again, and was glad for the chance to rest even if it was in a dingy little lean-to. Even though he tried to make it on his own strength, the girl again had to support him by the time they reached the door. She helped him inside and over to a tattered straw mattress in the corner; her own bed, apparently.

Did she expect a reward for her aid? She was quite mistaken if so, a daiyoukai of his stature had no time for tiny little human girls who petted him. Still, he was tired and dizzy and achy, so he permitted her to ease him down onto the mattress and gently lay a threadbare blanket over him. That done, she made another sign for silence before gently patting his hair—Sesshoumaru was getting quite tired of that—and darting out of the little hut.

This was an odd situation, but he would have to get some rest before he could try to sort it out. It seemed that the girl's intention was to help him, but he wasn't sure why. Also, where _was_ Father? This wasn't like him, even if he was angry.

[A/N: So, Sesshoumaru's now about six, physically, and Rin is seven or eight. Clearly he is quite a precocious child. Also, this is my lowest-dialogue chapter ever, I'm quite impressed with it.]


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"So…" Kagome began, trying to sound casual and failing utterly, "what do you suppose happened to Sesshoumaru?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Don't know, don't want to," he said curtly.

"But Totousai said that you weren't actually using enough force to kill him back when you were fighting…" Kagome persisted. "So you must care at least a little bit."

"Not enough to go looking for him," Inuyasha retorted, not looking at her. "Just wait, he'll be back after us soon enough. He's enough of a pain as it is, no point seeking him out."

"But what if he's, like, really hurt?" Kagome asked insistently. "Maybe even in a coma or something."

Inuyasha frowned a little. "What's a coma?"

Kagome paused to think for a moment. "It's where someone's been hit on the head or something and they can't wake up. Sometimes, they'll be asleep for years and years!"

"That would be nice…" Inuyasha remarked absently. "Then by the time he turned up again I'd be strong enough that he wouldn't be any bother at all!"

Kagome huffed. "That is _not_ the point you were supposed to get from this conversation!"

They would have gone on arguing like this if Miruko had not suddenly fallen unconscious for reasons which Sango claimed were entirely unrelated to the massive bone boomerang that she happened to be wielding at the time. Kagome was a little glad for the interruption but wished that they could have made a bit more progress first, wherever it was that they were going at the moment.

…

Rin paused at the entrance of her hut to look back at her visitor before heading into the village. She still couldn't quite understand how someone could be so beautiful; his hair shone like the full moon, and his eyes were gold like the jewelry some of the village women wore for festivals. Rin didn't get to see gold things very often, so she was sorry he was sleeping now, even though she was sure he needed the rest.

When she had first found him, she had been searching for berries and acorns in the woods—while the villagers gave her food, she was still hungry a lot of the time—and when she had headed back she had discovered him in the little clearing. There was no reason for anyone else to be walking through the woods, especially someone dressed in such fine clothing. It was just as if he had fallen from the sky, and she had quickly concluded that that had been exactly what happened—he must be an angel! Because angels were supposed to be beautiful, weren't they? And only an angel would have beautiful silver hair like that. Her family must have sent an angel to see how she was doing. And wasn't it nice that they had sent one that was just her size?

Her angel must have fallen a little too hard, though, because he hadn't looked so well when he woke up. This reminded Rin of what she had been intending to do in the first place: she had to find something for him to eat.

The greengrocer's wife was one of the more generous of the villagers, and after helping with laundry for half the afternoon Rin hurried home with several apples, two riceballs and a small jug of milk. Rin wasn't sure what angels ate but hopefully one of them should work.

She ducked through the entrance of the lean-to and met her visitor's bright golden eyes.

…

Sesshoumaru hadn't slept after the girl brought him to her hut. This whole place smelled far too much of humans for that, and he had not risked more than a wary half-drowse. Occasionally he had odd little glimpses of dreams where he saw a tall inuyoukai like his father but with eyes much colder. None of the dreams lasted more than a couple seconds, and when they ended Sesshoumaru couldn't remember anything except the cold eyes.

He had just come fully awake again, and was about to roll over and try to rest when the tattered blanket that served as the lean-to's door was pulled aside, letting a shaft of light hit him in the face.

Sesshoumaru winced as the light made his headache flare up again, sitting up and scooting back so it wasn't in his eyes anymore as the girl skipped into the tiny room. She was carrying a variety of items that looked like human food. Kneeling on a relatively clean section of the dirt, she began to lay them out on a small piece of cloth as Sesshoumaru watched. Once she had finished, she looked up at him with a big smile and a 'look at all this' gesture.

Obviously she wanted him to come over to where she was, and even though Sesshoumaru knew there was no point in indulging a silly human girl, he stood slowly and walked over, staying close to the wall just in case. If he did feel shaky again, he would have something to lean on instead of embarrassing himself by falling all the way to the floor. The room was small enough that nowhere in it was more than a few feet from the walls.

To his relief, he made it over to the girl without incident and knelt across from her. Sesshoumaru looked at the food curiously. Ordinarily, he wouldn't eat human food, and indeed much of it wasn't very good for him (or so he had been told) but he was very hungry and thus not terribly picky. The apples were fine, and so was the milk. After that he was still hungry, so he tentatively picked up one of the squashed-rice things. It was rather unpleasantly salty, but very filling.

He was about to take the other one when he realized that this girl was very likely giving up her own food for him. He didn't really need any more to eat at the moment, and he didn't want the human girl to deprive herself for him—then he would feel like he owed her something. Standing up (with much less difficulty, thankfully) he calmly announced that he was no longer hungry and went back to sit on the bed, since there didn't appear to be any chairs.

As he had expected, the girl quickly began eating the second rice ball. What he hadn't been expecting was for her to come and sit down _right_ next to him when she had finished. Sesshoumaru turned to look at her in some surprise, and the girl poked him in the chest, making a querying sort of sound.

By this point, Sesshoumaru was pretty sure that the girl couldn't talk, which he thought was somewhat out of the ordinary as far as humans went. "You want to know my name," he guessed.

The girl nodded, smiling broadly.

Sesshoumaru hesitated; giving one's name out to humans was not something to be done lightly, as this fact had been impressed on him constantly by his tutors. Still, if this girl couldn't speak there wasn't much harm that could be done if he told her his name. "My name is Sesshoumaru," he said finally.

Frowning, the girl mouthed the word although no sound passed her lips. Then she knelt on the floor again and painstakingly traced two characters into the dirt.

Sesshoumaru was not entirely proficient with the human writing system, but these he could read. "Rin. Your name is Rin?...Don't hug me! This Sesshoumaru will not be hugged!"

[A/N: Not sure whether the western concept of angels is historically accurate here, but I hope you'll forgive the artistic license. I think it's adorable, anyway.]


End file.
